Bruins have a chance for payback

UCLA-ARIZONA BREAKDOWN

OFFENSE

The Wildcats ran the ball all over UCLA last year, but with a relatively inexperienced offensive line, that is not likely to happen again. Quarterback Willie Tuitama has struggled and Arizona has punted, turned over the football or had the half end on 44 of 60 drives this season.

DEFENSE

Given the struggles of the Wildcats' offense, the Bruins have a chance to post consecutive shutouts for the first time since 1980 when taking down Wisconsin and Ohio State. UCLA is ranked third in the nation in total defense..

SPECIAL TEAMS

Nick Folk handles the kicking and punting for the Wildcats and has a live leg. He is averaging 45.6 yards on 28 punts and also has hit 6 of 10 field goals, including a 52-yarder. The Bruins are last in the Pac-10 in kickoff returns, averaging only 14.9 yards. But that might be irrelevant here. Arizona has had only two of 17 kickoffs returned.

COACHING

UCLA holds a significant edge with its coordinator DeWayne Walker and its defensive coaching staff. Coach Karl Dorrell made a laughable point that he decided to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line just before half against Stanford last week, but with less than a minute remaining what coach doesn't go there? It wasn't the decision that was bad, it was the play.

INTANGIBLES

Arizona was supposed to surprise a few teams in the conference this season, but has shown little to nothing. After a loss to Washington last week, there was a players-only meeting. That usually is not a good sign. Stoops might have lost this team, five games into its season. The Bruins still have a lot to play for, including revenge from a 52-14 beating last year.

MATCHUP TO WATCH

UCLA corners Trey Brown and Rodney Van against Arizona receiver Mike Thomas. Thomas was slowed early in the year by a sprained ankle, but in the Wildcats' past two games he has caught 12 passes for 169 yards and again is becoming a presence in the offense. Thomas last year caught five passes for 104 yards against the Bruins. They couldn't cover him.

OUTCOME: UCLA, 23-3

Arizona is ranked only seventh in the Pac-10 in total defense and ninth in passing efficiency defense, but the Bruins figure to struggle once again offensively. Ben Olson showed signs of progress in the second half last week against Stanford and will do some work out of the shotgun today, which might help. But there still is a long way to go for Olson and the Bruins' offense. Still, the Wildcats just are not very good.

ROBERT KUWADA/The Register

It's Arizona today and another challenge for UCLA - more mental perhaps than physical.

The Wildcats are 2-3 and 0-2 in the Pac-10, with one of those victories coming over Stephen F. Austin, a Division I-AA team. They are last in the conference in rushing offense, passing offense, total offense, scoring offense and third-down conversions.

This is the type of opponent that has not kindled much interest from the Bruins in the past. In this case there is one thing that should stand out - 52-14, the score last season when the Wildcats thrashed a UCLA team that was 8-0 and ranked seventh in the nation.

"We got blown out. We were embarrassed," fullback Michael Pitre said. "I guess you can say we went in there thinking we were better than we were. We were 8-0 at the time and nationally ranked. I think people on the team started listening to too many outside influences."

But therein lies one of the most significant problems for Coach Karl Dorrell, even after taking a major step forward last season when UCLA went 10-2 with a Sun Bowl victory over Northwestern.

The consistency in effort is not always there and the focus sometimes wanes, leaving questions about the Bruins' attitude, approach and preparation.

"I think it's something that the coaches - and Coach Dorrell since he's been here - have been trying to instill in us," Pitre said, "that we've always got to work hard and you've got to develop a certain attitude and work ethic. That way when it comes game time it's not something that you have to switch on, it's something that you have already.

"You've got 110 different personalities, and it takes a certain amount of people different time to buy in. Someone like myself, I could have bought in two years ago when I was here and there could be some others on this team who still have not bought in. Any team in any sport, you always want to get everybody on the same page. That way, you can reach that common goal."

The Bruins have improved, but questions remain and the Wildcats pose an interesting challenge.

They are struggling, no doubt, presumably an easy mark. But there also is a measure of revenge to be gained after last season, when the Bruins were down, 28-0, before getting on the scoreboard, and were held to 328 yards total offense and a season-low 14 points.

"It's night and day compared to when a lot of these guys first got here," Pitre said. "It's the attitude and the way that we go about working on things. Right now, there are guys out still working after practice. That wouldn't have happened three or four years ago.

"I don't know that you will ever have 100 percent of the people believing in what the coaches are saying and what not, but you want to try to lessen the number of people who aren't believers. You want to get 99 percent, while striving to get 100 percent.

"Sometimes you do have to get on guys, because, hey, if you're not on the same page, then you need to keep stepping. If it's not to help this team win a Pac-10 championship and get this program where it needs to be, then we don't need it."

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